#torpedo stingray

[mizzswizz]

🐠 - Fishuary!!

day 9 - ray

common torpedo ray / torpedo torpedo

@fish-daily

@fishyfishyfishtimes

[vossprime]

Sixgill: A snippet on aquatic Skitarii

1.3k words, Gen.

The figure below him cut through the dark with the effortless agility of a dancer. Each twist and turn torpedoed its slim shape through the water, fabric billowing behind it like the fan of a fighting fish. Marshal ASV-O5 floated above in silent observation. He watched the Skitarius perform another turn and the improvised tail follow the movement.

Red pieces of robe were cut through with black underlayers, but the darkness of the tank dyed them a uniform wash. Sixgill had sought to increase drag to test the capabilities of the hydraulics, and when the robes of the Mechanicus had not met her demands, they had both begun to attach scraps of fabric taken from wherever they could find to the swimmer.

The tech-priestess seemed to have rectified the problems with this individual’s augmentations, and the inload coming from above him confirmed this. Noospheric data ran past his cognitive screenings, all metrics once again having been returned to unproblematic intervals.

Purely out of his own interest he sent a request for clarification to the hooded figure sitting at the edge of the basin, staring into the black below. Sixgill had her optics set to both automatically filter the glare and negate the distortion of water, but nonetheless he did not trust she was seeing much. The pool she used to calibrate the Aquis’ augmentics was tiled black in an effort to mimic the natural environment they so often found themselves in, and even with the light coming from above, visuals stopped being reliable past five metres deep.

Indicators ran along Sixgill's input, marking a cluster of data for observation and attaching the analysis that had gone along with it. He followed where she pointed him. Apparently the previous issue had lain in the differing strength of the legs of the Skitarius, leading to an uneven swimming pattern and taxing the augmentations that ran to the middle of his thighs in an irregular way. A natural deviation that occurs in the biology of many. Dominant hand, eye, ear. Sacred asymmetry. Sixgill signalled. It has been rectified and will work as intended now, Asvos.

Sixgill was a patient person who gently would take time to explain her work even to the most lowly initiated among the Cult Mechanicus, but was often short in her answers, giving her an undeserved reputation as a staunch elitist. She had also insisted on pronouncing his name as Asvos, something that had caught on among those he marshalled before he had had the chance to stop it. A testament to her strange sentimentality.

He had no illusion that it was this precise sentimentality that urged Sixgill to keep him closer than a tech-priest would keep a marshal, and why she had gifted him a set of augmented optics that, being set in unblinking metal, made him look closer to laymen than most of his kind. Besides this, he mimicked the look of his cohort in both build and lack of hair. Any ideas Sixgill had for the Aquis, she tested on Asvos first.

In simpler terms, they could be called something like friends. The Skitarius below him, not yet given the order that the readings had concluded and he was to cease swimming, bent his body until his legs flipped over himself, drawing a perfect, upright circle into the water.

Asvos watched his playful behaviour with passive interest. It was apparent Sixgill hadn’t taken the joy out of her Skitarii. Fear and other disserving emotions, yes, but not joy. Joy was their reward for when the descent began, for when their harpoons struck flesh, for when they emerged from the water onto land to kill in the name of the Machine God. Joy was what made their Skitarii artfully manoeuvre around in the water like schools of stingrays dancing with the tide. Maybe this would have taken away from their battlefield credibility, had their successes not spoken for themselves.

Two months ago they had struck down a xenobeast the size of a small titan and with tentacles in every direction plucking off workers of a nearby Forge World like fruit ripe for the taking. The beast had been no match for the Aquis. They had not lost a single man in the endeavour.

Do you want to conduct one final test for me?

Asvos immediately affirmed. The question was wholly unnecessary, indicating more a ritual than an actual choice, but Sixgill loved trying her hand at these little social dances and those around her had no choice but to indulge her.

Why don’t you go after him? Stress test. With a click only audible to himself, Asvos interlocked his legs and connected his already-extended fins. By the time the other Skitarius had registered him barrelling towards him, Asvos had already crossed two thirds of the distance between them.

He shot a few short signals to his subordinate indicating danger, clueing him in on the game and indicating that Asvos was to give chase.

The Skitarius had no time to switch from the individual fins to interlinked, but while Asvos was faster that way, the other gained greater manoeuvrability.

When Asvos shot down on him with arms already extended to drag and engage him further in the deep, a depth he was better equipped to handle than all of them, his opponent barreled out of the way with such lightness that the resistance seemed to give him no trouble at all.

The Skitarius stared at him unblinkingly from out of the wavering cloud of cloth that now looked like seaweed, waiting for him to make the next approach that he would then evade.

Asvos whipped around, allowing the strength of his augmented legs to catch and reverse the momentum that had propelled him forward - but it took time, and his opponent used that to bring distance between them.

They engaged like this for a time - constantly testing themselves in both speed and strategy. A good-natured match. Sixgill seemed to not interfere, leaving her Aquis to calculate their trajectories and strikes without her input.

He expended no cognitive functions to unnecessary timekeeping. Their play could have lasted minutes or hours.

The resolution of the fight happened when they had taken their duel just below the surface.

Asvos’ metal hand had caught the edge of one of the torn robes hanging around the Skitarius’ waist and in one fluent motion he held it twisted snugly around his hand.

Asvos was strong. Years of combat-stimms running through his system and surviving the trials the Omnissiah and Sixgill had thrown at him had made it so. Yanking the fabric both sent him forwards and pulled the Aquis towards him.

With a push of his legs he disengaged the connecting mechanisms and drew a few quick circles around the Skitarius, taking more fabric as he went. The other tried to torque himself in time with the movements to counteract this kind of capture, but had recognized the strategy too late - by the time he had processed the plan, both his arms and legs had been restricted enough to make an escape unlikely.

Something nudged his shoulder. One of Sixgill’s mechadendrites had lowered itself into the water, carefully but no less firmly grabbing onto the edge of the tanks mounted to his back. It began pulling him back towards the surface. Asvos let go, not without frustration, and the Skitarius unravelled.

His head broke water just underneath Sixgills' observatory parameter, and he hauled himself over the edge of the basin before her feet.

The other Aquis came back to the surface somewhere behind him. Sixgill drew her mechadendrite back, patting it dry with the edges of her robe.

“This concludes my testing.” her vox-grill echoed. She had long lost the ability to speak without it, else he’d not doubted she would have loved to.

Asvos pulled the edge of his rebreather down, smaller tubes still hanging from the mask into his mouth, and used the raspy crack of his flesh-voice for his answer.

„I would have won that.“

Had Sixgill still had the ability to laugh, she would have.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

The Oldsmobile Golden Rocket

The Oldsmobile Golden Rocket was a two-seater show car built by Oldsmobile for the 1956 General Motors Motorama. The radically styled fiberglass concept, designed to resemble a rocket on wheels, was revised several times and displayed at various other auto shows, most notably at the 1957 Paris Motor Show where it generated much fanfare, 18 months after it was first revealed. The car was featured in the promotional short film Design for Dreaming along with the rest of the 1956 General Motors lineup.

Exterior

Similar to other Space Age show cars, the Golden Rocket was heavily influenced by the themes of aviation and space exploration. Its sleek, aerodynamic body was made entirely of lightweight fiberglass and finished in metallic bronze paint. Bullet-shaped chrome pieces resembling Dagmar bumpers were integrated into the front fenders in place of headlights as well as the sweeping rear fenders, giving the car an overall rocket-like appearance. Other notable features include a swept-back wrap-around windshield, which had already become a common design element by the mid-1950s, less prominent tailfins by contemporary standards and a split-window fastback roof design presaging the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. It rode on unique "dotted-line" whitewall tires. A later photo taken inside the GM Design Center in Warren, Michigan shows the car sporting a blue paint scheme.

Interior

The leather upholstery was finished in blue and gold. When a door was opened, the two-piece roof panel rose automatically in a similar manner to the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL's gull-wing doors. The seats were raised up by three inches and swiveled outwards by 45 degrees, enabling easier access to the passenger compartment. One of its most pioneering innovations was the button-controlled tilt steering wheel, making it one of the first vehicles with such a feature. The speedometer was placed at the center of the foldable two-spoke steering wheel. The futuristic center console and control levers were inspired by an aircraft cockpit.

Powertrain

The car was powered by an upgraded 324-cubic inch Rocket V8 engine tuned to produce 275 horsepower (205 kW). According to interior photos, the Golden Rocket had an automatic transmission like all other Motorama show cars. Details on other internal components, however, are unavailable.

Design legacy

An early styling mock-up of the 1958 Chevrolet Corvette, built around 1956, depicted a fixed-roof fastback coupe with a rear design taken almost directly from the Golden Rocket show car, right down to the torpedo-shaped rear fenders and subtle tail fins. However, this design proposal never reached beyond the clay model stage and a more conventional design was used on the production model instead.

Seven years later, under the direction of General Motors head of design Bill Mitchell, the split rear window design would reappear on the 1963 Corvette Stingray coupe. It lasted for one model year before being changed to a single-piece rear window due to a problem of poor rear visibility.

Current status

It is unclear if the Golden Rocket still exists today. A common practice of General Motors in the 1950s was to destroy show cars after they fell out of usage in order to avoid liability concerns; however, the Golden Rocket is still unaccounted for with no confirmation it was crushed. There is photographic evidence that the car still existed as late as 1962, while several other show cars were scrapped earlier in 1959. The car was reportedly located somewhere in New Jersey, however the rumor still remains unconfirmed even after extensive investigation. Motorama historian David W. Temple believes that the Golden Rocket, along with other lost show cars, will likely never resurface again.

[chernobog13]

I had me one of these when I was a wee lad. It was a present from my aunt who lived across the street at the time and who, I suspect, bought it so my sister and I wouldn't come over to her house all the time asking for cookies and other treats.

The sub was made of "fibreboard" pieces (really just heavy-duty cardboard) that interlocked together. You accessed the sub through the conning tower, which opened like a hatch. The torpedoes and missiles were hollow plastic (soft vinyl?) and were "fired" by air pressure from squeezing little bellows. I don't remember the "electronically lit instrument panel," but I think whoever put it together was too lazy to insert batteries. I don't recall missing that feature, because the sub was a blast to play in.

The Supermarionation show Stingray, which I enjoyed, was broadcast at the time, so I would pretend I was part of the show. A lot of times I would also make believe the sub was a spaceship

I know me sainted mum wasn't super fond of the sub because it took up most of the playroom my sister and I used. I don't know why mum was opposed to it, because no one else used the room, and the sub would keep me occupied for hours. Instead, after about a week, she had us take it outside to our postage stamp-sized backyard. Then she told us to leave it in the yard when we came in for dinner, and that it would be there in the morning for us to play in again.

Not me, and not my backyard (waaaay too big), but I found this photo of some lucky kid playing in his Polaris sub around the same time I had mine.

Except it rained that night. Hard. And my fibreboard/cardboard sub essentially melted into mush, the only things left being the periscope, torpedoes and missiles.

We never got a replacement sub, much as I wanted one. No one was willing to fork out another $7.73 (the price + shipping fee), which is the equivalent of $74.56 these days, for kids who couldn't take care of their toys.

One of these days, if I'm feeling industrious enough, I'll search the Interwebs to see if I can find the plans for the sub. Then I'll see If I can figure out how to make another sub, but big enough for my adult carcass to fit in.

And if that works, no one's gonna see or hear from me for a long time, 'cause I'll be exploring the oceans depths.

[petrapalerno]

LOTKM Chapter One: A Higher Power, Or Whatever

🐚LENA

If I had to choose someplace to die, this would be it.

Maybe I wouldn’t have chosen the journey it took to get here—I’d happily skip the alien abduction and trafficking bit. The rest, all things considered, drifting into a brightly colored unknown ocean is pretty damn peaceful.

I learned long ago that worrying about things out of my control was useless. I could rage, scream, and slam my fist into my plastic security bubble, but it won’t make a difference.

I am going to die, and I’m going to wonder at the beauty of this place before I go. I doubt another human has seen these bright-colored creatures swimming by. They’re fish-like but more torpedo-shaped. A set of googly eyes dangle from long stalks below their bodies. Their scales glint in the sunlight as the schools float around me, almost reminding me of camera flashes back on Earth.

I take a deep breath and try to enjoy their unearthly elegance, leaning my back against the gently curving wall of my security pod.

This plastic bubble I’ve danced in for the past year has become familiar. I know every scratch and ding. Despite how much you claw at its wall, I know it can’t open from the inside.

Whatever space-age plastic the Deenz aliens use is robust. I don’t know how much of the growing pressure it can handle as we descend further into the depths of this seemingly bottomless ocean.

The sunlight from the surface is ever waning, and the waters around me get darker and murkier the further I fall.

Another breath fills my chest as I try to quell the anxiety creeping in from the peripherals of my psyche.

The school of creatures follows me like companions ushering me to the afterlife.

I put a hand against the plastic enclosure to thank them for not leaving me alone. I’ve always loved the ocean. Many of my tattoos are of underwater scenes: the coral reef on my calf, the stingray guarding my bicep, and my favorite tattoo—Aphrodite reclined on the half shell on my shoulder.

My soul has always been called to the water, so I guess this demise is fitting.

Thanks, to the universe or whatever higher power controls this kind of thing, I find myself thinking.

As I try to project my gratitude to these little aquatic creatures and some higher power, I catch a flash of yellow from the corner of my eye.

It moves too fast for me to get a good look at it. Spinning around in my bubble, I search for whatever it was.

As the school of alien fish shift suddenly to the left, I see him.

A muscular canary yellow alien, his head full of pulsating tentacles, gapes at me. The tentacles shift as if moved by the underwater currents. They splay around his head like a lion’s mane. His strong arms and legs pump as he descends with my bubble.

I say “he” because his cock is something you really can’t miss. It isn’t hard, but still floats proudly on display. His dick’s impressive length is nestled in tentacles similar to the ones that surround his head but they’re much shorter. Almost like if you traded out pubes for a sea anemone. I guess that makes sense since his head “hair” is also comprised of tentacles.

I wonder what that would feel like? I think, before quickly scrubbing the thought from my mind.

I’m more than likely going to die, and I don’t want my last thoughts to be about alien dick.

I break my gaze from his crotch, not wanting to be a complete and total pervert. His smooth yellow skin is covered in a pattern of squiggly teal rings. He’s got the physique of an Olympic swimmer, with a broad set of shoulders tapering into powerful legs.

His eyes are blue and bore into me as if questioning my very existence.

“Hi.” I huff, taken back by this strange alien adonis that’s found me.

When I speak, he springs out two of his head tentacles that appear longer than the rest to grip the outside of my bubble. My descent stops so rapidly that I drop to my knees like a stone.

Tentacle Man pulls me closer to him. The strength in those two thick appendages sends a strange thrill through me.

He puts his face up against the plastic and appraises me with his full lips agape.

“What are you?” He cocks his head, his deep voice muffled through the water.

“I’m Lena. I’m human,” I whisper, shocked he can speak.

He screws up his mouth and furrows his brows, “I don’t understand you,” he says, tapping a spot in front of his ear. “I don’t have a translator chip, and I don’t think you speak Andjin. There’s no tech allowed during the great proving—we are only as the Greath Mother created us.”

What in the flying fuck is the great proving?

But even in my confusion, I realize he stopped my bubble from dropping further into the ocean…does this mean I won’t die?

“Are you going to help me?” I say slowly as if that might help him understand me.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your language. I don’t even know what species you are…but it seems like you’re in danger.” His face softens, and he places his slightly webbed fingers against the plastic.

“Can you understand me? If you can, nod,” He tells me softly.

I nod, and he smiles.

“Well, at least one of us can get our point across….” He trails off as if catching sight of my body for the first time.

I’m wearing the thin, near-pornographic costume that all the trafficked human women wear. Its light blue stretchy material is strapped tightly across my neck, belly button, and nipples. All connected to a vertical strap covering my crotch.

“I like your skin’s patterns,” he says, letting his eyes drag down my body. “But I think there’s something wrong with your camouflage, as beautiful as they might be.”

“Those are tattoos. I don’t have camouflage,” I say practically to myself, knowing he doesn’t understand me.

“Do you need help?” He questions me, his eyes full of sincerity.

I nod aggressively.

I don’t have to die today.

Do I trust the bizarrely handsome alien man in front of me? I’m not sure. He seems kind, but my trust disappeared not long after I was abducted. I don’t know if it’ll ever come back.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been dancing at this point, maybe months? Everything tends to blur together. The Deenz, the hive-minded purple alien fucks who captured me from Earth, give us all kinds of shots.

Downers to sleep, then uppers and aphrodisiacs to “work.”  It doesn’t make it easy to keep track of time, and sometimes it’s better to forget any of the memories you make.

“I’ll try my best to help you…” He pauses, “My name is Kitaico. What’s yours?” He asks, pointing to me.

“Leeenuh,” I tell him slowly.

“Leeenuh,” he repeats. He smiles at me, a grin full of sharp teeth slightly more tapered than mine. I scramble backward, taken off guard by his predatory mouth.

I start to second guess myself–that maybe this wasn’t the best idea, but I’m out of options and apparently willing to gamble on a total stranger for help.

A shadow floats below my bubble as we try to figure each other out. I crane my neck down to see what it is, wondering if they’ll be more beings like Kitaico.

It’s not. An immense creature, about the size of a blue whale, approaches us. But there’s nothing gentle looking about the giant rising quickly in the distance.

While its head is whale shaped, that’s where the similarities end.

The creature’s sides pulse with bioluminescence as it cuts quickly through the water. Its tail is some nightmarish combo of a stingray and a scorpion. A barb at its end flashes with blue light. As it spots us, it lets out a terrifying roar and opens its mouth, filled with jagged rows of fangs.

I gasp, turning back to Kitaico; his skin has changed to the deep blues of the waters surrounding him.  He sets his jaw and turns away from me, and for a moment, I fear he will leave me to be devoured by the creature.

As he swims, I realize his two longest head tentacles are still wrapped around my bubble, and he’s dragging me towards the surface.

His powerful legs kick wildly as we climb. I can tell he’s struggling to keep up his pace. Looking down, I see the monster gaining on us. It snaps its mouth, gnashing its fangs.

“Hurry, Kitaico!” I yell in vain, hoping he’ll understand me. He doesn’t respond, but I can see his camouflage shifting wildly between colors. I wonder if the effort of our escape is pushing his body to its limits.

I push myself against the bubble’s far side as the monster’s mouth closes around the bottom. With a violent crunch, it rips away a chunk of my former prison. It thrashes it’s head like a shark attempting to subdue its prey but putting some distance between us once more.

I barely have time to hold my breath before I’m sucked out of the bottom. The water crashing in makes the air rush out like a vacuum. My muscles clench painfully from the blast of water as I tumble into the warm ocean spinning head over foot. I snap my eyes shut. Soon enough, I’ll be nothing but fish food.

Something snakes around my ankle, tugging the skin so hard I can nearly feel my skin rip. Then there’s something around my waist, drawing me up again.

“Leeenuh, hold on!” Kitaico yells as he hoists me into his arms, “We only need to get a bit higher, the scripiat won’t be able to follow much longer. He can’t survive in the shallows!”

He strokes one hand behind my head and tucks my body into his chest.

I don’t have enough air. My lungs burn as I involuntarily cough, and what little breath I have left escapes bubbling upward.

Kitaico slows and his heart is still pounding against my ear.

“The scripiat returns to the depths. We are safe,” he whispers.

I kick my legs weakly, pointing my finger to the surface. I can’t stop myself from gulping in a deep breath of salt water, choking on its mineral taste.

“Leeenuh, we are safe now. Stay calm.”

My vision blurs and I lose control of my head as it slumps into my alien hero—it’s not his fault he doesn’t know I breathe oxygen.

Darkness creeps into the edges of my vision.

I point up one more time before I lose consciousness.

We were so close.

More chapters are available on my Patreon here.

[biologicalfandomhippo]

The really fun thing about cryptids and supernatural stuff is that I am largely immune to the fear of them due to having studied biology. I don't want to run into the mysterious thing in the woods, but I don't think it's more scary than a bear. Or a mountain lion. I heard somebody talk about theories of saber-tooth tigers still being about, and that's not any more scary than a normal tiger, honestly. If you gave me the choice between a megalodon and a bull shark, I'd say the bull sharks scarier, The megalodons too big to see me as food or as a threat. Oh there's big monsters in the ocean and they'll kill you? Moray eel. Stingray. Torpedo ray. What's a ghost going to do to me that a person couldn't? A person could probably do worse!

[imsociallyanxiousgetoverit]

List of all SDV and SDV:E (Stardew Valley: Expanded) Giftable Items

Horseradish

Daffodil

Leek

Dandelion

Parsnip

Cave Carrot

Coconut

Cactus

Banana

Sap

Large Egg

Egg

Milk

Large Milk

Green Bean

Cauliflower

Potato

Garlic

Kale

Rhubarb

Melon

Tomato

Morsel

Blueberry

Fiddlehead Fern

Hot Pepper

Wheat

Radish

Red Cabbage

Starfruit

Corn

Rice

Eggplant

Artichoke

Pumpkin

Bokchoy

Yam

Chanterelle

Cranberry

Holly

Beets

Ostrich Egg

Salmonberry

Amouranth

Pale Ale

Hops

Void Egg

Mayonnaise

Duck Mayonnaise

Void Mayonnaise

Clay

Copper Bar

Silver Bar

Gold Bar

Iridium Bar

Refined Quartz

Honey

Pickles

Jam

Beer

Wine

Juice

Clam

Poppy

Copper Ore

Silver Ore

Coal

Gold Ore

Iridium Ore

Wood

Stone

Nautilus Shell

Coral

Summer Shell

Spice Berry

Sea Urchin

Grape

Spring Onion

Strawberry

Sweet Pea

Common Mushroom

Wild Plum

Hazelnut

Blackberry

Winter Root

Crystal Fruit

Snow Yam

Sweet Gem Berry

Crocus

Red Mushroom

Sunflower

Purple Mushroom

Cheese

Goat Cheese

Cloth

Truffle

Truffle Oil

Coffee Bean

Goat Milk

Large Goat Milk

Wool

Duck Egg

Duck Feather

Caviar

Lucky Rabbit’s Foot

Aged Roe

Ancient Fruit

Mead

Tulip

Summer Spangle

Fairy Rose

Blue Jazz

Apple

Green Tea

Apricot

Orange

Peach

Pomegranate

Cherry

Bug Meat

Hardwood

Maple Syrup

Oak Resin

Pine Tar

Slime

Bat Wing

Rusty Blade

Swirl Stone

Solar Essence

Void Essence

Void Pebble

Void Shard

Void Soul

Fiber

Battery

Dinosaur Mayonnaise

Roe

Squid Ink

Tea Leaves

Ginger

Taro Root

Pineapple

Mango

Cinder Shard

Magma Cap

Bone Fragment

Radioactive Ore

Radioactive Bar

Ancient Fiber

Bearberry

Conch

Dried Sand Dollar

Ferngill Primrose

Golden Ocean Flower

Goldenrod

Green Mushroom

Four-Leaf Clover

Monster Fruit

Monster Mushroom

Mushroom Colony

Poison Mushroom

Red Baneberry

Salal Berry

Slime Berry

Rafflesia

Sports Drink

Stamina Capsule

Thistle

Void Root

Winter Star Ross

Dewdrop Berry

Aged Blue Moon Wine

Blue Moon Wine

Aegis Elixir

Armor Elixir

Barbarian Elixir

Gravity Elixir

Haste Exilir

Hero Elixir

Lightning Elixir

Pufferfish

Anchovy

Tuna

Sardine

Bream

Largemouth Bass

Smallmouth Bass

Rainbow Trout

Salmon

Walleye

Perch

Carp

Catfish

Pike

Sunfish

Red Snapper

Herring

Eel

Octopus

Red Mullet

Squid

Seaweed

Green Algae

Seacucumber

Super Seacucumber

Ghost Carp

White Algae

Stone Fish

Crimsonfish

Angler

Icepip

Lava Eel

Legend

Sandfish

Scorpion Carp

Flounder

Midnight Carp

Mutant Carp

Sturgeon

Tiger Trout

Bullhead

Tilapia

Chub

Dorado

Albacore

Shad

Lingcod

Halibut

Lobster

Crayfish

Crab

Cockle

Mussel

Shrimp

Snail

Periwinkle

Oyster

Woodskip

Glacierfish

Void Salmon

Slimejack

Midnight Squid

Spookfish

Blobfish

Stingray

Lionfish

Blue Discus

Baby Lunaloo

Bonefish

Bull Trout

Butterfish

Clownfish

Daggerfish

Dulse Seaweed

Frog

Gemfish

Goldenfish

Grass Carp

King Salmon

Kittyfish

Lunaloo

Meteor Carp

Minnow

Puppyfish

Radioactive Bass

Razor Trout

Seahorse

Sea Sponge

Shiny Lunaloo

Snatcher Worm

Starfish

Torpedo Trout

Undeadfish

Void Eel

Water Grub

Dwarf Scroll 1

Dwarf Scroll 2

Dwarf Scroll 3

Dwarf Scroll 4

Chipped Amphora

Arrowhead

Ancient Doll

Elvish Jewelry

Chewing Stick

Ornamental Fan

Dinosaur Egg

Rare Disc

Ancient Sword

Rusty Spoon

Rusty Spur

Rusty Cog

Chicken Statue

Ancient Seed

Prehistoric Tool

Dried Starfish

Anchor

Glass Shards

Bone Flute

Prehistoric Handaxe

Dwarvish Helm

Dwarf Gadget

Ancient Drum

Golden Mask

Golden Relic

Strange Doll

Strange Doll

Prehistoric Scapula

Prehistoric Tibia

Prehistoric Skull

Skeletal Hand

Prehistoric Rib

Prehistoric Vertebrae

Skeletal Tail

Nautilus Shell

Amphibian Fossil

Palm Fossil

Trilobite

Emerald

Aquamarine

Ruby

Amethyst

Topaz

Jade

Diamond

Prismatic Shard

Quartz

Fire Quartz

Frozen Tear

Earth Crystal

Alamite

Bixite

Baryite

Aerinite

Calcite

Dolomite

Esperite

Fluorapatite

Geminite

Helvite

Jamborite

Jagoite

Kyanite

Lunarite

Malachite

Nepunite

Lemon Stone

Nekoite

Orpiment

Petrified Slime

Thunder Egg

Pyrite

Ocean Stone

Ghost Crystal

Tiger’s Eye

Jasper

Opal

Fire Opal

Celestine

Marble

Sandstone

Granite

Basalt

Limestone

Soapstone

Hematite

Mudstone

Obsidian

Slate

Fairy Stone

Star Shards

Fried Egg

Omelet

Salad

Cheese Cauliflower

Baked Fish

Parsnip Soup

Vegetable Medley

Complete Breakfast

Fried Calimari

Strange Bun

Lucky Lunch

Fried Mushrooms

Pizza

Bean Hotpot

Glazed Yams

Carp Surprise

Hashbrowns

Pancakes

Salmon Dinner

Fish Taco

Crispy Bass

Pepper Poppers

Bread

Tom Kha Soup

Trout Soup

Chocolate Cake

Pink Cake

Rhubarb Pie

Cookies

Spaghetti

Spicy Eel

Sashimi

Maki Roll

Tortilla

Red Plate

Eggplant Parmesan

Rice Pudding

Ice Cream

Bluberry Tart

Autumn’s Bounty

Pumpkin Soup

Super Meal

Cranberry Sauce

Stuffing

Farmer’s Lunch

Survival Burger

Dish’O’The Sea

Miner’s Treat

Roots Platter

Triple Shot Espresso

Seafoam Pudding

Algae Soup

Pale Broth

Plum Pudding

Artichoke Dip

Stir Fry

Roasted Hazelnuts

Pumpkin Pie

Radish Salad

Fruit Salad

Blackberry Cobbler

Cranberry Candy

Bruschetta

Coleslaw

Fiddlehead Risotto

Poppyseed Muffin

Chowder

Fish Stew

Escargot

Lobster Bisque

Maple Bar

Crab Cakes

Shrimp Cocktail

Ginger Ale

Banana Pudding

Mango Sticky Rice

Poi

Tropical Curry

Squid Ink Ravioli

Mushroom Berry Rice

Big Bark Burger

Flower Cookie

Frog Legs

Glazed Butterfish

Grampleton Orange Chicken

Mixed Berry Pie

Baked Berry Oatmeal

Void Delight

Void Salmon Sushi

[berylcups]

La Squadra Splatoon Au/Crossover Pt 2 of 2

Okay here’s the final part! As I said before, the kits aren’t balanced, just based on how I think their stands would translate into. Also their personalities on how they would act in this type of situation.

Sigh I’m finally done 😩 this took longer than I thought. Well I hope you guys like it !

Pesci:

Ink/Octoling: Octoling

Species type: dumbo octopus - a little unusual looking but very charming! Just needs more confidence.

Ink color: dark sea foam

Weapon: splatana wiper- light weight and can keep others at a distance. He can steady his aim and use a vertical swipe to pack an extra punch. It feels similar to a fishing rod so he will get comfortable with his weapon real quick!

Sub weapon: torpedo - like sensing who’s near by this sub will weed out anyone in its radius.

Special: stingray - just like beach boy going through walls, this powerful special can too and if he’s lucky he might get a catch!

Play style: He’s a nervous guy so he likes to keep his distance but don’t expect him to be a pushover. Taunt him enough or splat him enough times and he’ll get pissed enough to get serious and ready to chase your ass down ! But unprovoked, he’s most likely going to be painting. (Until prosciutto yells at him to be more assertive of course)

Melone:

Ink/Octoling: octoling

Species type: Graneledone boreopacifica octopus - this the best known mother in all of the animal kingdom. It holds its brood for roughly 4 years. Nobody is more dedicated to their young than Melone.

Ink color: periwinkle

Weapon: E-Liter - He prefers long range, and he wants to be as far removed from the action as possible. Work still needs to be done so an intimidating E-Liter will keep any enemies at bay.

Sub weapon: Autobomb - it’s a mini junior! He can throw one or two of these and have it (slowly) chase after who came within his radius.

Special: super chump- another automated round of “juniors “ to show up and blow the place sky high. They can be cancelled out by shooting at them but nobody can get rid of them all. Worst case scenario he paints some turf-which is what is needed anyway!

Play style: Mel doesn’t like being in the heat of the battle. He plays as defensively as possible. His preferred role is guarding the base and spawn points. The more turf that’s taken the closer he’ll move in and pressure the enemy back into their own base. Throw some auto bombs in for good measure. He didn’t raise/program those things to collect dust.

Ghiaccio:

Ink/Octoling: inkling

Species type: Humboldt squid- the most aggressive squid known to man! He has sharp teeth to grind out of pure rage, but there’s plenty of them on the tentacles too 😬

Ink color: turquoise

Weapon: Octobrush - brush users are fast and they are AGGRESSIVE. They are on the opposite side of the map and the next second you’re getting your cheeks clapped by the brush and you respawn.

Sub weapon: Fizzy bomb - another aggressive type of bomb. You shake it with everything you got and chuck it at your opponent and watch it blast them away.

Special: Kraken Royale - white album is impenetrable and it’s highly destructive. Going into kraken mode and chasing down his enemies is going to be a blood bath. All you can do is hope to out run him until he powers down and then attack him back during that one second he’s vulnerable.

Play style: OFFENSIVELY OFFENSIVE. Ghiaccio is the embodiment of pure rage. He will go and chase anyone who has the misfortune of catching his eye and splatting them repeatedly. He will easily zigzag through splattling fire and charger shots and somehow make his way up to you and splat you. You better hope he runs out of ink.

[mikeyscontextuals]

Research On Your Allocated Animal.

Visual Reference and development:

The Great White shark is a fascinating beast, to say the least. I wast so very happy that this is what was given to me for this brief.

I have to say that before being tasked with this assignment I knew as much about Great Whites as the next person, but having done the necessary research for this assignment, I realized they are even more interesting than I could have ever imagined.

Mexico, Guadalupe, Pacific Ocean, scuba divers in shark cage with white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, in the foreground.

We all know where we’ve heard about them, Steven Spielberg did a great job in ruining their reputation worldwide, using them as the antagonist for the movie franchise “Jaws”, which was all about psychotic, borderline homicidal Great White shark encounters, which couldn’t be less true for a great deal of reasons. They still look very homicidal by default however.

“Jaws” is an American thriller movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, based on a 1974 novel, that was released in the year of 1975. It’s set in Amity Island, New England, and is about a set of, at first, mysterious disappearances at the local beach, which are proven to be the works of none other than one of our trusted Great Whites.

I’m not standing here as an advocate for their amicableness though, they really do look like the perfect killing machine, being the largest predatorial marine fish, but we’ll get into that right after with the factual information.

Factual Information (about the animal and the issue):

As I previously mentioned, the Great White Shark, or Carcharodon Carcharias, is the largest know to man predatorial fish, weighing anywhere between 4000 pounds (~1814 Kg), to 7000 pounds (~3175 Kg), and measuring between 16 feet (~4,87 meters) to 20 feet (~6,069 meters), making for undoubtedly intimidating creatures with their massive size and stature.

They possess a set of 300 razor sharp teeth, which is funny and ironic, because Great Whites do not chew their food, they rip their prey into mouth-sized pieces and swallow them whole!

Their massiveness and body shape are all too well thought though, for their torpedo shaped bodies are made for better and more effective cruises through the ocean for a larger duration of time, and occasionally they can even switch to high-speed burst when pursuing their prey, even leaping out of the water at times!

But as I mentioned, despite their menacing appearance, they are not as dangerous to us humans as the movies make it seem, funny enough, you are going to be surprised by some of the statistics:

               -In the United States, during a time span of 96 years, ranging from 1916 to 2011, there were 106 confirmed , unprovoked, Great White shark attacks, which included just 13 fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2021 alone, there were 42,915 confirmed deaths due to fatal car crashes. Or maybe I can give you a more interesting example: According to the Governmental page for Natural Disasters and Severe Weather, you can find that between 2006 and 2011, on average, there were little over 140 confirmed lightning caused deaths in the United States of America;

               -On average, there is only about one Great White attack per year;

               -For every 1 human that is killed by a shark, about 25 million sharks are killed by humans;

               -For every beach attack that occurs, it is typically a juvenile Great White, for they feed closer to shore to prey on stingrays, fish and smaller animals that are more abundant and easier to catch.

And so we must ask ourselves once again: The Great White Shark, Monster or Victim? Personally, I think the statistics may answer this very well.

Investigation of other artists/designers who have taken on similar issues/subject matter:

Cherilyn Ramsey - @STOKED_CREATIVE

This artist focuses her will to break the misconceptions and people’s negative attitude towards sharks through her art, wanting to portray the critical state of our oceans, as well as the overall wellbeing of sharks.

Rachel Nutkins - @RACHELNUTKINSART

Much like the previous artist I showed you, Rachel Nutkins is driven by the way people portray sharks, and see them as this menacing cold blooded killing machine, and seeks to redirect people to the truth through her art, painting colorful bits of sharks in a less aggressive way than what they would normally be shown as. She sees sharks not as monsters that need to be hunted, but as important and essential parts of our ecosystem that should be protected and respected, not hunted down.

Blake Kanan - @CREATIVELY_BLAKE

And to top it all up, last but not least, Blake Kanan is an illustrator who uses a variety of media to convey his art, whether that is digital, traditional, graphic, logos, illustrations, the message is always the same: Portray the beauty of a shark’s design, so people see the animal as a piece of art, rather than a scary monster.

These were the three artists that interested me the most because it related directly to the key issue I was given about sharks: “Monster or Victim?”. There were certainly a few more good examples, but these ones fit perfectly.

Deeper contextual, critical, and conceptual thinking about the animal in question:

With all this research done, I believe I have a pretty good understanding not only of the outcome I want done, but of the path I will follow to reach it. This was without a doubt my favorite animal and issue out of all the papers given to the other students, and I am extremely happy its mine! My wish is to produce a final that will further help portray that they are indeed the victim, and not the monsters the world makes them to be, whether that’s in the Tv, the Cinema, but in the general media as well.

It is definitely harder to point out less intimidating features from a shark, because as we saw they are definitely not the most innocent looking fellows on this planet, and so smoothing that up is not my goal, for it would take away from what they are, and that is not where I want to be headed. Nonetheless, I still have a lot of studying to do to advance with my Graphic Media work for Paul, for I will do this animal some good, and not help further ruin his reputation.

I briefly browsed through the library search and plan on doing a more thorough scan for they seemed to have some good pieces about this subject, parallel to that I will also be going to the library to bring up some pieces on Shark biology, to help me develop this further in the most realistic way possible.

In the meantime, I’ll be conducting more studies about not only the animal, but is issues.

Until nextime!

Bibliography:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t82m6vPhsEA: “Great White Sharks of Guadalupe Island” | The National Geographic;

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/great-white-shark: World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF): The Great White Shark;

https://open.spotify.com/episode/77gxjaTuNMJoa0ZQL2EjX0?si=64385d1fca2249d0 : The Great White Shark Experience Podcast, Episode 1- Eric and Allen;

https://brandongaille.com/32-rare-great-white-shark-attack-statistics: Great White Shark Statistics;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year: Car Accident Statistics;

https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/lightning/victimdata.html- Fatal Lightning Strike Statistics;

https://www.themarinediaries.com/tmd-blog/ocean-artists-turning-sharks-into-art: Artists who focus on Shark art;

https://www.instagram.com/stoked_creative/ Cherylin Ramsey, Illustrator;

https://www.instagram.com/rachelnutkinsart/ Rachel Nutkins, Illustrator;

https://www.instagram.com/creatively_blake/ Nathan Blake, Illustrator.

[head-post]

Australia, UK to sign submarine co-production deal

Australia and the United Kingdom announced a bilateral deal to produce a new class of nuclear submarines as part of the AUKUS partnership, according to Reuters.

Canberra will buy US Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the United States in the next decade. The UK and Australia will later build the new class of AUKUS submarines at Barrow-in-Furness in the UK and South Australia under the AUKUS pact announced in 2023.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said after a meeting with his British and American counterparts on Thursday in London:

We will be negotiating a treaty, a bilateral treaty, between Australia and the UK to enable our portion of AUKUS. We will be operating the same class of submarine. So, when you look at the industrial cooperation, the technology transfer, the way in which all of those mechanisms operate to do that, that is the subject of the treaty.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated that the AUKUS defence ministers meeting also reached an agreement to use British-made Stingray torpedoes in P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft. These are used as submarine search aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin declared that AUKUS partners had conducted significant experiments on land, underwater and in the electromagnetic spectrum to enhance combat capabilities as part of AUKUS Pillar Two.

AUKUS partners are reportedly expanding their capabilities to develop and deliver offensive and defensive hypersonic technologies. They will also conduct a large-scale drone exercise later this year.

Read more HERE

[ultrajaphunter]

820 NAS also at Work with Stingray Torpedo Training on Merlin on the deck of the HMS Prince of Wales

[ketrinadrawsalot]

Raypril Day 1: Draw your very own stingray, torpedo ray, or cownose ray!

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[justdealingwithsomeissues]

Hulk and Val’s coffee is... not so good. Also, these dudes show up and like “yo Hulk is a member of the defenders but what if, what if we attack him!”

[tobacconist]

fun etymology: the word ‘torpedo’ is actually latin for stingray (because it causes torpor) and the missile is so named because like the stingray it moves silently under the water and causes horrible painful death

[nelc]

Stingray torpedo surface launch